Apparatus for shaping fibre laps in a lap-forming machine



July 15, 1958 RYUHEI KAWAZURA 'ETAL APPARATUS FOR SHAPING FIBRE LAPS INA LAP-FORMING MACHINE Filed July 1a, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IINVENTORJ AR m U W A, WJJ AUU KFF R K M Y B July 15, 1958 RYUHEl KAWAZURA ETAL2,843,332

APPARATUS FOR SHAPING FIBRE LAPS IN A LAP-FORMING MACHINE Filed July 16,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS R. KAWAZURA By K. FUJII M. FUJIWARA y1958 RYUHEI KAWAZURA ETAL 2,343,332

APPARATUS FOR SHAPING FIBRE LAPS IN A LAP-FORMING MACHINE.

Filed July 16, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS R; KAWAZURA K. FUJH 1 BYM. F-UJIWARA 4 a1. yw.

y 5, 11958 RYUHEI KAWAZURA :1- AL 2,843,

APPARATUS FOR SHAPING FIBRE LAPS IN A LAP-FORMING MACHINE Filed July 16,1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 mmvraxs R. KAWAZURA y K. FUJI] M.FUJ|WARA2,843,332 1C6 Patented July 15, 1958 APPARATUS FOR SHAPING FIBRE LAPS INA LAP-FORMING MACHINE Ryuhei Kawazura, Motoyama-cho, Higashinada-ku,Kobe, Kazuo Fujii, Fuse, and Masaru Fujiwara, Yoshida-cho, Hyogo-ku,Kobe, Japan, assignors to Kanegafuchi Spinning Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan,a joint-stock company of Japan Application July 16, 1956, Serial No.598,197

Claims priority, application Japan July 20, 1955 3 Claims. 01. 242-551This invention relates to an apparatus for shaping fibre laps in alap-forming machine.

It is a conventional feature of a lap-forming machine to include a pairof fluted lap-forming rollers and a lap roller which is rotated on andby contact with the rotating lap-forming rollers and upon which is woundfibre material continuously fed through a plurality of calender rollers.The journals of the lap-roller are engaged with a pair of rackbars or,alternatively, a press-roller positioned on and in contact with the lapis supported by a pair of rack-bars whose upward movement caused by thegrowth of the lap in diameter is restrained so that the lap is presseddownwardly against the surfaces of the lap-forming rollers in order toensure the formation of a tightly rolled lap. When the lap is formed onthe machine it is ejected and a fresh empty lap roller is delivered tothe lap forming position in place of the ejected lap. The operation maybe cycled automatically and continuously.

Because of the fact that the lap is rotated for only a short while onthe fluted lap-forming rollers after being completed and before beingejected, the lap-end or loose end of the lap broken from the unlappedfibre material is not satisfactorily wrapped around the. lap andfurthermore the lap itself lacks of tightness or density. Particularlywhen the machine is continuously and automatically operated the drawbackis more noticeable so that the lap-end and the surface of the lap areloosened and disordered in the subsequent handling thereof, oftencausing production of a large quantity of waste fibre material.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an apparatusfor satisfactorily shaping fibre laps formed on the main lap-formingmachine, to completely wrap the lap-end around the lap and tighten itsatisfactorily.

'Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for thepurpose specified which may be continuously and automatically operatedin cooperation with and driven from the main lap-forming machine.

According to this invention, a pair of grooved lap shaping rollers whichrotate at all times in the same direction as that of a pair of flutedlap rollers in the main machine and upon which is to be ejected a lapcompleted or formed on the main machine are loosely mounted on a pair ofrespective arms pivoted on an axle. Means are provided to connect thearms to a vertically moving antifriction rack bar for turning the armsabout said axle and thereby swinging or inclining the grooved rollersforwardly and back to the original, normal or horizontal position. Aframe bar is connected to said arms in such a manner that it preventsthe lap on the grooved rollers in the normal position from rolling out,while it permits the lap to roll out from the grooved rollers when theyare forwardly swtmg- Other objects and features of the invention. willbecome apparent from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings which show one embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side View of a lap-forming machine associatedwith a lap-shaping apparatus according to this invention showing thenormal state of operation of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the state Where thegrooved lap-shaping rollers are swung or inclined forwardly to roll theshaped lap out thereof.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the state where a lapcompleted on the main machine has been ejected therefrom onto thegrooved lap-shaping rollers.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 1 omitting; the lap on the groovedrollers.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 4, the main lap forming machine comprises apair of rotating fluted lap-forming rollers 1 and 1. Indicated with thenumeral: 2 is a rotating press-roller which acts to press either thelaproller 3 or the lap L downwardly so that the lap L is pressed uponthe surface of the rollers 1 and 1. The shaft 4 of the press-roller 2'is rotatably supported by a pair of rack bars 5, 5 whose upward movementcaused by the growth of the lap in diameter is restrained for the wellknown purpose and by any well known means. The machine is so constructedthat when the lap is formed or completed the braking action on. the rackbars 5, 5 is released and the lap is ejected and. a fresh empty rolleris delivered to the lap forming position in place of the ejected lap.These features are rather conventional features of a lap-forming machineand. are not the essence of this invention, and therefore detailsthereof are omitted from the drawings. However, for example, referencemay be made to those shownaand described in our pending applicationSerial No. 410,226 filed Feb.- ruary 15, 1954. The apparatus of thisinvention may be applied to; any machine having the features mentioned.

In front of the fluted lap-forming rollers 1, 1: there are provided apair of front and rear grooved lap-shaping rollers 6, 6' (hereinafterabbreviated as' shaping rollers) whose journals are loosely supported atboth ends by a pair of arms 7, 7 which are symmetrically and looselyfitted on a horizontal axle 8 extending. between and. con-- nected toframes 9, 9 of the machine.

A pulley 10 formed integrally with a gear 11: loosely' fitted adjacentone end of the axle 8 is driven from. a. pulley 12 secured on the. axleof the rotating fluted. lap forming roller 1. Gears 13 and 13' securedto. the respective axles of the shaping rollers: 6, 6' mesh: with saidgear 11 so that the shaping rollers 6, 6 are at all times rotated in thedirection indicated by the: arrows (.Figsr I. and 3).

Adjacent the point at: which the shaping roller 6 is mounted on the arm7 there is provided on said. arm. 7 a longitudinal extension b and adownwardly" projecting hook member 0. A pair of symmetrical upwardprojections: a, are provided on the respective arms 7 and. 7' adjacent.the point at which the shaping roller 6' is mounted on the respectivearms 7' and 7. A downward. projection d is provided at the opposite endof the arm 7;

On the upper part of the rack bar 5 there is: provided. a lug 14engageable with a pawl 15 pivoted at 16 on one: end of an L-shaped rod17 pivoted at 181. A spring 19 is connected: at its one end with thepawl 15 and at. the other end with the rod 17 so as tonormallyspring-press. the end of the pawl 15 against a pawl stopper 20. pivotedon the rod 17. The pressed contact of the stopper 20 to the end of thepawl is assisted by a plate spring mounted on the rod 17. The upperendof a latch 22 pivotedat 23 is held against the lower end of the L-shaped rod 17 by means of a spring 24. On said latch 22 there isprovided a lug 25 which normally engages the hook 26 of the member c onthe arm 7, and by said engagement the arms 7 and 7' are normally kepthorizontal. Indicated by reference numeral 27 is a pinion engaged withthe rack on the rack bar 5. A cam 28 is secured to the shaft 29 of thepinion 27. At one end of a lever 30 having its fulcrum at 31 there ismounted a roller 32 which is in contact with the surface of the cam 28.The other end of the lever 30 is pivotally connected at 33 with thelower end of a link 34 whose upper end is pivotally connected at 35 withthe extension 17 of the arm 7. The downward projection d of the arm 7 isconnected by a spring 36 to the frame of the machine so that when thearm 7 is released from the latching and the roller 32 drops into therecess 37 on the cam 28 the arm 7 is swung downwardly and forwardlyaround the axle 8 by the force of the spring 36. p This causes theforward swinging or inclination of the shaping rollers 6 and 6' so thatthe lap L rolls out thereof.

To prevent the lap L from rolling out when the shaping rollers 6 and 6'are in normal position and to prevent the lap ejected from the mainlap-forming machine from jumping off the shaping rollers, a frame bar 38is pivoted at its ends to the axles 39 respectively supported by theupward projections a on the arms 7 and 7. The frame bar 38 is pivotallyconnected at both sides with the upper ends of a pair of links 40 whoselower ends are pivoted to side frames 9 and 9' at 41. It will beunderstood that when the arms 7 and 7 are swung the frame bar 38 is alsoswung downwardly to permit the lap to roll off the shaping rollers.

Indicated by reference numeral 42 is an adjustable stopper. When thepawl stopper 20 moves upwardly together with the pawl and contacts thestopper 42 the latter will press the pawl stopper downwardly so that thestopper 20 is disengaged from the pawl 15 as shown in Fig. 2 and thepawl 15 is made free. Therefore, the movement of the rack bar 5 is nottransmitted to the L-shaped rod 17 and the rack bar 5 can move upwardlywithout restraint of the pawl 15. In this state, the rod 17 may bepulled downwardly to its original position by means of a spring 43connected thereto.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

When a predetermined length of the fibre material is wound upon the laproller on the fluted lap-forming rollers 1 and 1' the lap L is ejectedonto the grooved shaping rollers 6 and 6' and a fresh empty lap roller 3is delivered to the lap forming position in place of the ejected lap asshown in Fig. 3. This operation may be effected in any known manner, forexample by means shown and described in our pending application SerialNo. 410,226. The rack bars 5 and 5' immediately move downwards until thenew lap formation is commenced. As shown in Fig. 1 by contacting withthe grooved lap shaping rollers 6 and 6' rotating in the direction ofthe arrow, the lapend or loose end of the lap is completely wrappedaround the lap L and furthermore the lap itself is satisfactorilytightened and shaped.

Meanwhile, the rack bars 5 and 5' together with the press roller 2 moveupwardly as the diameter of the new lap L increases. In the course ofthe upward movement the lug 14 on the rack bar 5 engages at apredetermined height, with the pawl 15 to lift or push up the latter asshown in Fig. 1. This causes the turning of the L-shaped rod 17 aroundthe pivot 18 against the spring 43. Therefore, the lower end of the rod17 engaging with the upper end of the latch 22 swings the latter to theleft (in Fig. 2) around the pivot 23 against the spring 24 so that thelug on the latch 22 is disengaged from the hook 26 to release therestraint on the arms 7 and 7'. At this point, the roller 32 drops intothe recess 37 of the cam 28 which has been rotated in the direction ofthe arrow (Fig. 1) by the engagement through the pinion 27 with theupwardly moving rack bar 5. Consequently the lever 30 is released fromthe control of the cam 28. The arm 7 now rendered free is turnedclockwise around the axle 8 by the force of the spring 36'so that theshaping rollers 6 and 6 are inclined forwardly as shown in Fig. 2. Itwill be understood that the frame bar 38 is also swung downwardly sothat the shaped lap L is rolled out downwardly from the shaping rollers6 and 6'.

As the formation of the new lap L proceeds the rack bar 5 with the pawl15 and its cooperating members further moves upwardly. When the pawlstopper 20 engages the stopper 42 the former is turned counterclockwisearound its pivot by the pressure of the latter as shown in Fig. 2 sothat the pawl 15 is released from the pawl stopper 20 and freed from thelug 14. Consequently the L-shaped rod 17 is not affected by the upwardmovement of the rack bar 5. In other words, the rack bar 5 continues tomove upwardly past the pawl 15. The L- shaped rod 17 is pulleddownwardly by the spring 43 to the normal or original position. Thelatch 22 is also returned to the original position by the force of thespring 24. The cam 28 which has continued to rotate in the direction ofthe arrow (Fig. 1) again engages at its surface with the roller 32 sothat the lever 30 and the link 34 are pulled down to the originalposition and the arms 5 and 5 are returned to the original horizontalposition. It will be understood that the hook 26 again engages with-thelug 25 on the latch 22 and the frame bar 38 is also swung back to theoriginal position.

When a predetermined length of the fibre material is wound upon said newlap roller 3 or the lap L' is completed on the lap-forming rollers 1 and1' it is ejected onto the shaping rollers 6 and 6 and the same operationhereinbefore described is repeated.

It will be understood that when the rack bar 5 moves downwardly the lug14 thereon is not actuated by the pawl 15 because the latter is freelyrotatable counterclockwiselwithout obstructing the downward movement ofthe lug 4.

While the invention has been described in connection with a particularembodiment thereof, it is to be understood that we do not limitourselves to the precise method and construction herein disclosed andthe right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within thescope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for shaping and discharging fibre laps in a lap-formingmachine of the type having a pair of fluted lap-forming rollers, rackbars or rack heads, a lap roller which is rotated on and by contact withthe rotating lap-forming rollers and upon which is wound fibre material,and means to eject the completed lap and deliver a fresh empty laproller in place of the ejected lap, which apparatus comprises a pair ofside frames, a pair of rotating grooved lap shaping rollers, a pair ofarms on which said grooved lap shaping rollers are mounted, an axle onsaid side frames positioned in front of the lap-forming rollers on thelap-forming machine, said arms being rotatably mounted on said axle, theejected lap being received on said lap shaping rollers for shaping, alatch pivoted on one of said side frames normally engaging one end ofone of said arms to restrain the arms and the rotating shaping rollersin the horizontal position of said arms, a rod. pivoted on one of saidside frames having pawl and latch means mounted on its upper partengageable with one of the rack bars and said rod engageable at itslower end with said latch and rotated by the rack bar to disengage thelatch from the arm to release said restraint as the rack bar movesupwardly, a spring connected between the other end of said one of saidarms and one of said side frames to pull the said other end of said armsdownwardly when said restraint is released so that said arms with saidshaping rollers are turned around said axle to roll the shaped lap outof-the shaping rollers, adjustable abutment means on said lapformingmeans abutted by said pawl and latch means when the rack bar movesfurther upwardly for disengaging said rod from the rack and permittingsaid latch to return to the active position engageable with said arm,cam and cam follower engaged by said rack bar, and linkage between saidcam follower means and said arms for pulling said arms rearwardly to theoriginal horizontal position Where said latch engages the arm again torestrain the arms with the shaping rollers horizontal for receiving thenext lap to be ejected from the lap-forming machine.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said cam means comprisesa cam rotatably mounted on said lap-forming machine and having a recesstherein and having gear teeth thereon engaged with said rack bar, saidcam follower means comprises a roller rolling on said cam, and saidlinkage comprises a lever pivoted on said lap-forming machine and havingsaid roller rotatably mounted on one end thereof and a link pivotallyconnected between the other end of said lever and the said one end ofone end of said arm, whereby when said roller drops into the recess onsaid cam, said lever is permitted to rotate to allow the forward turningof the arms and when said latch is to be brought into the original 6position the roller engages the surface of the cam to rotate the-leverin the opposite direction to pull the arm rearwardly to the horizontalposition so that the arm is again engaged with said latch to restrainthe arms with the shaping rollers in a horizontal position for receivingthe next lap to be ejected from the lap-forming machine.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising a frame barhaving side portions and a transverse portion pivoted at the ends ofsaid side portions to the said one end of said arms, and links pivotedbetween the said side frames and the middle of said side portions ofsaid frame bar, whereby when said arms with the shaping rollers are kepthorizontal said frame bar extends upwardly around the lap on the shapingrollers and when said arms are turned forwardly said frame bar is swungdownwardly out of the path of the lap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,037,348 Stein Apr. 14, 1936 2,189,716 Kash Feb. 6, 1940 2,288,621Greer July 7, 1942 2,487,196 Sternad et a1. Nov. 8, 1949

